Date of birth:

December 22nd, 1921 (Groningen, The Netherlands)

Date of death:

March 10th, 1945 (Neuengamme, Germany)

Buried on:

Dutch War Graves Cemetery Esserveld

Nationality:

Dutch

Klaas Alberts was born at Oosterstraat 67 in Groningen. He came from a reformed family of seven children. Klaas went to the teacher training college with the Bible in H. W. Mesdagstraat. The director, Anko Scholtens, was fiercely anti-German.

When he was 21, he became a teacher in Vries. Klaas told the head of the school, Simon Schoon, that he wanted to join the resistance. That did not happen right away. When Klaas became a teacher in Koekange, he looked Simon up again with the request to enlist him in the resistance.

When Simon Schoon founded the KP (North Drenthe resistance group) in early 1944, Klaas became the first KP member1. His alias was “Had”2. More young men joined the resistance and they were initially given light assignments to learn the “trade”, such as “organising” a good bicycle from an NSB member.
Klaas was soon enlisted in the LO work (National Organisation for Assistance to People in Hiding). Had gets involved in robberies in Assen, Coevorden and Grootegast.

Things go wrong in September 1944 during a robbery on a collaborator in Haren. A shooting ensues, in which Had is seriously injured. He is eventually transferred to the academic hospital in Groningen. There, Had is liberated after a few days by the KP Groningen. He recovers from his injuries at Pop Dijkema (Oosterhoogebrug). Had wants to return to his KP friends as soon as possible.

On 8 November 1944, things go completely wrong. Had cycles with his friend Frans Dijkstra to the farm of the Nijmeyer family in Anreep, where their friends are. However, they do not know that a major robbery had taken place shortly before. They are arrested and taken to the police station, where Frans Dijkstra manages to escape. Had goes to the detention centre in Assen.
The liberation of the prison in Assen on 11 December 1944 comes too late for Had. He is then in the Scholtenhuis, where he is severely abused.
On 18 January 1945, Klaas Alberts arrives by train in Neuengamme. His farewell letter states: “For me, there is no more hope in terms of humanity. I have 10 death sentences. We do not like to talk about heroes, we do not even know what exactly heroes are”.

He will die of exhaustion on 10 March 1945.
Klaas Alberts was 24 years old.
His name is mentioned on the gravestone of his parents, Jan Pieter Alberts and Gepka Gezina Vos, on the Esserveld in Groningen.

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• Photo 1: J.Niemeijer "Hoe Groningen Streed".
• - Hoendiep 85
  - Klaas Alberts | Oorlogsgravenstichting
  - Klaas Alberts | Digitaal Monument Neuengamme
  - Klaas Alberts | Erelijst van Gevallenen 1940-1945
  

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